My Fair Lady

Clash of the Two Gentleman

A/N: Hi guys, so someone mentioned that it would be useful to have a quick summary of what happened so here's the summary: Basically, Caroline wants Edmund and used Titania to threaten Juliet into leaving Edmund and Juliet had to choose between keeping Edmund and saving her sister and she chose the latter. Yup :) 

Edmund's POV

"What the hell is going on?" Lord Jasper demanded. "Where on earth is Juliet?" 

"She disappeared," Edmund said darkly. He had informed Jasper of the news despite his misgivings about this love rival because he was after all, Juliet's best friend.

"You bastard," Jasper shouted and launched towards him.

"Oh fuck," Edmund swore and darted out of the way. "Can you calm down?" 

"Nothing has gone well ever since you returned," Jasper shouted. The veins on his forehead was visible and he pointed his finger at him. "You promised me that you would take good care of Juliet. I promised to give my blessings to both of you and this is how you treat her." 

Without saying a word further, Jasper took out his sword. "I challenge you to a duel, Lord Edmund Aughust."

Edmund frowned. "This is not an appropriate time to practise our sword skills. And furthermore, I did not treat Juliet poorly contrary to your misconceptions. She left without even explaining anything."

"You bastard." Jasper charged and thrusted his sword towards Edmund.

Edmund darted quickly and drew out his sword instinctively. The most his eyes saw Jasper's aiming the sword for his heart, he deflected it and pushed the sword away. 

"Stop being immature, Lord Jasper, put down your sword and we will resume talking," Edmund growled.

"I will kill you. You must have done something to drive Juliet away." Jasper roared and suddenly took out a dagger and threw it at Edmund.

Jasper was a fine swordsman and had been trained in throwing daggers since young but Edmund had always been the superior swordsman, even receiving training in the martial arts from the renowned old masters. From young, Edmund was blindfolded by his teachers and force to engage in fights blind.

As if in slow motion, Edmund heard the slow swishing the dagger and he caught the dagger inches before it stabbed him in the eyes.

"Lord Jasper. It has always been your impatience and immaturity which make people feel annoyed," Edmund said gravely. "Now, put down that sword or I will throw this dagger at you and I assure you, that my aim is more accurate than yours and you will end up blind by the next minute."

Angrily, Lord Jasper threw down his sword. "If you didn't treat Juliet poorly, why the hell did she leave?"

"I'm still investigating," Edmund said gravely. "My men have conducted a thorough search through the whole woods but no one has seen anything. I..." he paused. "I merely fear that she had been abducted by predatory men." He closed his eyes. "I will kill myself if anything harm came to her."

"Juliet must have left because someone said something to her. But the question is who?" Jasper furrowed his eyebrows. "Could it be Titania?"

"No, Titania left the household and packed her bags after she got thrown out by the haute society."

"Can you think of anyone who harbored a grudge on her? What about the person who poisoned her?" Jasper suggested.

"There have been no leads on the Ouboros clan," Edmund growled. 

"I know!" Jasper looked up. "It might be one of your jealous suitors."

Edmund wrinkled his nose. "My jealous suitors? I'm not sure if your mind is working but I assure you that I don't have a string of suitors."

"Edmund Aughust," Jasper stared at him strangely. "You are rich, handsome and strong which fits into the criteria of an eligible British man in society. There will obviously be many women jealous of Juliet's betrothal to you."

"Wealthy yes, I have assets. That's not the same as being rich. And I'm not handsome or strong."

"Don't make me punch you for your fake modesty," Jasper glowered at him.

"It's true." Edmund frowned. "I do not think I'm handsome or strong. As a child, I was a pale, sickly child who was called names just because I was the earl's second son and not the heir to the estate."

"I remember you," Jasper smirked. "When we were playing games, you were always left out."

"Precisely," Edmund said curtly. "If I recall, you threw a mudball at me before."

"That was not my fault," Jasper said defensively. "Sir Bernard told me to do that. I was merely a young boy following an older boy's instructions."

"It doesn't matter. At least I knew who were my true friends," Edmund's face softened. "Only Juliet talked to me and I was always awed how a girl that was so kind and gentle could exist. I began to like her but could never confess. And when I was sent to the country, I never saw her again but I kept her in my heart until I returned back to society."

"Interesting story but while you were thinking about the past, I thought of someone who could have planned this," Jasper said slowly.

"Who?" Edmund immediately became alert.

"The Seductress."

"Caroline?" Edmund frowned. "Not possible. Caroline may not be a clean woman but there's dignity and honor amongst thieves."

"You've to be naive to believe that women think like that all the time," Jasper snorted. "Yes, there's honor and dignity amongst whores but remember, women care the most about love and when the man they loved is taken away by another woman, they will resort to anything to claim them back."

"There's nothing going on between Caroline and I. I've already told her that it was impossible between us. I couldn't have been clearer."

Jasper looked annoyed. "Did you not hear what I said? Women are irrational creatures. Trust me, I've had 4 sisters and I completely understand women. I've seen the look in Caroline's eyes. She has this....intense sort of hunger inside her and she longs for you terribly."

"If it really was her, I would tear her apart," Edmund gritted through his teeth. "I saved her from ruins years ago and this is how she treats me."

"These are merely conjectures."

"There's only one way to find out." Edmund grabbed his cloak and stalked out of the room. "Which is to enter the lioness' den."